[ShiningSkull]

Medical marijuana poll:
Most L.A. voters support dispensaries

October 22, 2009 | 10:00 am

More than three-quarters of the voters in Los Angeles County want to see medical marijuana dispensaries regulated, rather than prosecuted and forced to close, according to a poll released today by a national organization that supports marijuana legalization.

The poll, completed Monday and Tuesday, also found that 74% support the state's medical marijuana law, while 54% want to see marijuana legalized, regulated and taxed.

The Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington, D.C., commissioned the poll by an independent firm, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, after Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley threatened all dispensaries in the county with prosecution.

Cooley and Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich argue that the stores, which now number in the hundreds, are selling marijuana for profit in violation of state law.

"I think the take-home message here is voters in L.A. County overwhelmingly support the state's medical marijuana law. They think dispensaries, properly regulated, can be a part of that, and Mr. Cooley's really out of step," said Bruce Mirken, the California-based spokesman for the organization.

The poll of 625 voters found that 77% of voters want to regulate dispensaries, while 14% want them closed. Both Democrats (83%-7%) and Republicans (62%-30%) support regulation over prosecution. The Los Angeles City Council is on the verge of adopting regulations after two years of debate and almost 13 years after voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.

The proposed law would ban sales of marijuana. Dispensary operators say they do not sell it, but collect donations to recoup their costs, but they fear the ordinance will be used against them.

Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, said that Cooley merely intends to enforce state law. "Selling marijuana over the counter for profit is a violation of the law," she said. "Mr. Cooley has said that, if it is found that the marijuana is being supplied in accord with the Compassionate Use Act, then those operations are not targets."

The poll found support for treating marijuana similarly to alcohol among county voters across most demographics, except voters who are 65 or older and Republicans. Both groups oppose it by about a 10-point margin. Young people, voters between 18 and 34, strongly support legalization, 72%-18%.

Legalization supporters are collecting signatures for four different initiatives that could be on the ballot next year. The Marijuana Policy Project has reservations about moving forward, noting that younger voters typically turn out more heavily in presidential election years.

The poll underscores the growing support for legalization, but the majority is not a large one. "It's a sign of huge progress," Mirken said. "It's not a sign that you are going to win."

Mason-Dixon randomly selected voters from the county's registration list and interviewed those who said they voted regularly. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Medical marijuana poll: Most L.A. voters support dispensaries | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

[ShiningSkull]

Blogger's response to the poll...

Has anyone told Trutanich? L.A. voters support
medical cannabis dispensaries with a strong majority

03:04 PM PT, Oct 23 2009

Limelight-loving L.A. City Atty. Carmen Trutanich has been making headlines and television appearances in recent weeks with his all-out legal assault on medical marijuana dispensaries. Unfortunately for Trutanich, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder feels that prosecution of medical marijuana patients should be a low priority for law enforcement officials and said so in a memo released Monday. Ouch. Trutanich and L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley got another setback on Monday as well when a circuit judge ruled that the city's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries was illegally extended. Double ouch.

But what might be the most compelling reason of all for Trutanich and Cooley to back off the cannabis biz is the overwhelming support for medical marijuana of the voters who elected them both in the first place.

As John Hoeffel reports from the L.A. Times local desk, over three-quarters of eligible voters are strongly pro-medical marijuana and would prefer to see the dispensaries regulated and taxed, not forced to close:

The poll, completed Monday and Tuesday, also found that 74% support the state's medical marijuana law, while 54% want to see marijuana legalized, regulated and taxed.

The Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington, D.C., commissioned the poll by an independent firm, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, after Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley threatened all dispensaries in the county with prosecution.

The poll of 625 voters found that 77% of voters want to regulate dispensaries, while 14% want them closed. Both Democrats (83%-7%) and Republicans (62%-30%) support regulation over prosecution. The Los Angeles City Council is on the verge of adopting regulations after two years of debate and almost 13 years after voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.

Even with the stated 4% give-or-take margin of error of the Mason-Dixon poll, this is a uniquely compelling report for Trutanich and Cooley to pay close attention to, especially since it will be these very same voters who'll be determining their reelection prospects in the future.

-- Richard Metzger


http://www.thisisbrandx.com/2009/10/...-majority.html

[budluva]

great articles

[DankJews]

Once Again A Great Post By ShiningSkull, Thank You!

.:Stay Medicated:.

[Smilodon]

Excellent news, thanks to SS for posting more positive developments in this troubled time. Anyone else think the women of WT are amazing? I mean really, Baby Boomer, SS, VDC, all the admins and mods just to name a few. We are truly blessed.

[amateurcollision]

The people have spoken, the government just needs to listen!

[CarlSagan]

This really should be no surprise, especially to the DA.

Californian's passed 215. This is what our people want.

With the DA acting against the will of 75% of his constituents, we know that he will not be in office very long.

The current DA and CA actions are the last gasp of the anti-mmj backlash. These folks are about 15 years behind the times...they know they are about to loose, so they are choosing to go out with a fight.

What this poll means is that even if the DA and CA are successful in shutting down many co-ops and putting fear into the mmj community, our movement is not dead! We have the support of 75% of the population and our thriving mmj community and co-ops will come back with a vengeance!!!

[johnoh]

The trouble is these jerks actually do have the power. What is amazing to me is that both Cooley and Trutanich have gone off the same deep end at the same time. Must be more here than meets the eye - why pick on dispensaries now? It's weird. San Diego and San Berdoo lost at Supreme Court ending the last holdouts in the state, cities are coming close to all out legalizing (a la Oakland, Berkeley), the feds are officially backing off, and suddenly LA County DA and LA City Attorney are cracking down? At the same time? I'm trying to connect the dots and they're just dots...

[cephas]

Originally Posted by Smilodon

Excellent news, thanks to SS for posting more positive developments in this troubled time. Anyone else think the women of WT are amazing? I mean really, Baby Boomer, SS, VDC, all the admins and mods just to name a few. We are truly blessed.

It's off topic, but yeah, the women are what make W/T such a great place IMO.

...women are kinda what make the Earth tolerable too.....


On topic:

Awesome article ShiningSkull!

As always, thanks for sharing!

[mooniegoogoo]

Originally Posted by cephas

It's off topic, but yeah, the women are what make W/T such a great place IMO.

...women are kinda what make the Earth tolerable too.....


On topic:

Awesome article ShiningSkull!

As always, thanks for sharing!

Agreed 100%

[VooDoo Chile]

Awwww you boys can be so sweet when you're not talkin' about football!

[ShiningSkull]

Originally Posted by Smilodon

Anyone else think the women of WT are amazing?

Thanks, Smilodon.

Not everyone feels the same way, I can assure you.

[BrattonBasher]

This poll is so freaking important! Every speaker at the inevitable council meetings should make a referance to it. Politicians deal with numbers, so this is huge! Finally something extraordinary from MPP for medical users. It was genius to hire such a reputable firm to do the poll, and it was risky because nobody knew it would end up so lopsided. Thanks MPP!